AMAZING Death Related Facts!

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

During the development of a massive Russian missile known as the R-16, a catastrophic failure occurred on October 24, 1960, when a prototype rocket exploded on the pad killing over 100 personnel. After decades of government cover up, this incident, referred to as the Nedelin disaster, (so-called because Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin was killed), was finally revealed....

In 1960, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev anxiously awaited another playing
card in the Cold War with the US. Designed by experienced rocket scientist
Mikhail Yangel, the R-16
ICBM (NATO reporting name SS-7 Saddler) was nearing completion. Yangel and
Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin intended to produce a military and political coup, by
completing a successful launch before the November 7th anniversary of the
Bolshevik Revolution.

By October 23rd, the prototype was ready on the launch pad and was only awaiting
a few final tests before launch. The rocket had already been fuelled with
Devil's Venom, a mixture of dimethylhydrazine and nitric acid. This type of
hypergolic fuel was not only extremely effective, but also extremely hazardous, being both corrosive and highly toxic.
Despite extensive safety procedures, the pyrotechnic membranes on the first
stage fuel lines were accidentally damaged, allowing fuel to move to the
combustion chamber. While this was not immediately dangerous, the nitric acid
fuel component was so corrosive that it could not remain in the fuel lines for
more than a few days without irreparably damaging the rocket.

The rocket team were faced with a dilemma. They had to either launch the next
day, or completely drain the rocket and rebuild the engine - delaying the
program by several weeks. In light of the usual repercussions of failure in the
USSR at that time, the decision was made to launch. In the drive for more
propaganda victories in the wake of Sputnik, many safety regulations and
procedures were completely ignored.

Nedlein and members of the State
Commission gathered to view the launch. When another delay was announced,
Nedelin impatiently demanded to be driven to the launch pad to oversee the
preparations of the rocket himself. The Marshall's numerous subordinates
dutifully followed. When the commission members arrived, a chair was ordered for
Nedelin, who sat about approximately 30 meters from the rocket.

Mikhail Yangel

During the course of the pre-launch operations, a switch known as a PCD had been
set to its post-launch position. Later, noticing that it had not been returned
to zero position, an engineer switched it back. However, the rocket's onboard
batteries had since been connected, therefore returning the switch to it's first setting actually fired the second stage of the rocket engine.

At 18:45 local time and around 30 minutes before the scheduled launch, the
second stage engine came to life. Instantly, the roaring flame of the engine
burst through the fuel tank of the first stage directly below, initiating an
enormous explosion of the fully-fuelled rocket. In seconds, a giant fireball, up
to 120 meters in diameter engulfed launch pad 41, and those on it.

Some
were instantly incinerated, while many others died running from the tidal wave
of burning fuel. Those attempting to escape by climbing the fence surrounding
the pad were hampered by fresh tar, which melted under their feet. Others jumped
into the wells dug around the launch complex, only to suffocate from the
poisonous propellant fumes released by the inferno. Technicians located on the
upper levels of the gantry were engulfed in fire and burst into flame like
candles blazing in mid-air. Temperatures at the centre of the fire exceeded
3,000 degrees centigrade, and flashes of light were visible up to 50 kilometres
away.

Film cameras around the launch pad set to automatically record the
launch, were triggered by the ignition of the second stage, capturing these
horrific scenes for posterity. Nedelin and 125 others were killed by the inferno or splashed with corrosive
chemicals. Yangel however survived. Later, Yangel was asked by Nikita Khrushchev "But why have you remained alive?" («А ты почему остался жив?»). Yangel answered in a trembling voice - "Walked away for a smoke. It's all my fault" («Отошел покурить. Во всем виноват я»). He was apparently discussing the possibility of abandoning the launch with his chief
technicians. Later he suffered a heart attack and was out of work for months.

Обломки ракеты на стартовом столе
(Fragments of the rocket on the launch pad)

Upon learning the news, Khrushchev directed Leonid Brezhnev to go to Tyuratam to
investigate. When the commission landed in at the site, the missile's first and
second stages were still lying twisted together on the ground. The bodies of
victims, most of them burned beyond recognition, were taken to a special shelter
for identification. Those that could be identified were shipped home to their
families for burial. The fused remains of those who could not, were then swept
from the scorched concrete, placed in a single coffin, and lowered into a grave
in a park in the rocket workers' city of Leninsk. Complete secrecy was
immediately imposed on the events, and news was released stating that Nedelin
had died in a plane crash and the families of the other engineers were advised to say their loved ones had died of the same cause. Khrushchev also ordered Leonid Brezhnev to assemble a commission and head to the launch site to investigate. Among other things, the commission found that many more people were present on the launch pad than should have been — most were supposed to be safely offsite in bunkers. As far as the rest of the world knew, the Soviets'
efforts in space continued to move from one crowning success to another. It was
only after the fall of communism in 1990 that the true scope of the disaster
finally became public.

An honor guard at the grave of the dead
during the test R-16 October 24, 1960,
in the city of Baikonur

Today, the site is marked by a small monument containing the names of those who perished, and a map illustrating the layout of the old launch complex.

Apparently the monument is still visited by Russian Federal Space Agency officials before any manned launch.

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